Kings of Great Britain

Ina,

King of the West Saxons, a valiant prince and an able legislator,
succeeded Ceadwalla, in 688. Having obtained advantages over the
people of Kent in 694, he wrested Somersetshire and other parts
of the west of England from the Britons. He afterwards made war
upon the Mercians; but the latter part of his reign was spent
in works of peace, and having resigned his crown in 728, he went
to Rome, founded an Anglo-Saxon colony or school, and died there
the same year. Ina's school at Rome was further endowed with the
Romescot, by Offa of Mercia, about 794, and
disappears from history in the 10th century. The laws of Ina served
as the foundation of those of Alfred,
and some of them are still extant.

Stephen,

King of England, the son of Stephen, Count of Blois, by Adela,
fourth daughter of William the Conqueror,
was born in circa 1096. On the death of Henry
I. he immediately came over from Normandy to England; and
laid claim to the crown, although he had been one of the most
zealous in taking the oath for securing the succession to Henry's
daughter, the Empress Matilda.
By the aid of his brother who was bishop of Winchester, he possessed
himself of the royal treasure, and was enabled to bribe some of
the most restive of his opponents while he sought the support
of the people at large by promising to restore the laws of Edward the Confessor.
After a war with the Scots, who were finally defeated at the famous
battle of the Standard, the Empress Matilda landed in England
with her brother, the Earl of Gloucester; and being joined by
several powerful barons, a civil war ensued, which for cruelty
and devastation proved one of the most calamitous in the annals
of the country. After various turns of fortune, Matilda retired
to Normandy, and the contest was carried on by her son, Henry
Plantagenet, who in 1153 landed an army in England. Being
joined by the barons of his mother's party, the competitors met
at the head of their respective forces at Wallingford ; but an
armistice took place instead of a battle ; by which it was agreed
that Stephen should reign during his lifetime, and that Henry
should succeed him. In the following year Stephen died, aged 49.

Offa,

King of Mercia, succeeded Ethelbald in 755. He made war on
Kent in 771, five years later repulsed the Welsh, who sought to
recover the border-land, and pitilessly ravaged their territory.
In 777 he defeated Cynewulf, King of Wessex; and in 779 annexed
to Mercia the Welsh March-land, and had the great dike made between
his kingdom and Wales, reaching from the Dee to the Wye. In 792
he murdered Ethelbert, King
of the East Angles, and took possession of his kingdom. Died,
794.

Oswald, King of Northumbria,

was obliged, after the death of Ethelfrith, his father, in
617, to take refuge in Ireland, his uncle, Edwin,
having usurped the throne. He became a Christian in his retreat,
and returning to his own country, after Edwin's death, defeated
and slew the two usurpers of his kingdom. Oswald reunited the
two kingdoms of Deira and Bernicia; but was slain in a battle
with Penda, King of Mercia, in 642.

Penda, King of Mercia,

surnamed the Strenuous, was the son of Pybba (or Wybba), and
at the age of fifty succeeded Ceorl, A.D. 626 according to the
Saxon chronicles, but 633 according to Bede. His descent was traced
to Woden, and he is distinguished as the last powerful supporter
of paganism among the Anglo-Saxons. He displayed the greatest
energy and extreme cruelty throughout his long reign in numerous
successful enterprises against the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
Penda met his equal in Cynegils of Wessex, at the battle of Cirencester,
which was bloody and indecisive, and was followed by a peace;
in alliance with the great British prince Caedwalla, he made war
on Edwin of Northumbria, and
defeated and slew him, with his son Osfrith, at the battle of
Heathfield, in 633; defeated and slew Oswald
of Northumbria at Maserfeld in 642, ravaged the kingdom, and burnt
Bamborough; about 645 drove Cenwealh of Wessex from his kingdom;
and then made war on Anna, king of East Anglia, who had given
shelter to Cenwealh. Anna was killed, and Penda compelled his
brother and successor, Aethelhere, to join him in a campaign against
the Bretwalda Oswin. The decisive battle was fought (655) at Winwidfield,
where Penda and Aethelhere, with most of their allied chiefs,
were slain. The victor Oswin fulfilled the vows which he had made,
and founded twelve monasteries; and the Christian faith was established
in Mercia.